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Guidelines for StudentsUsing Bangor University’sSupport Workers SchemePlease follow these Guidelines so the service runs smoothly. You may also wish torefer to the Code of Practice for Support Workers. This is available ty/support workers.php or from theNon-Medical Help Co-ordinator.Your Responsibilities Attend all sessions and arrive on timeYou are expected to give your Support Worker at least 24 hours’ notice if youcannot attend the booked session. If you do not give 24 hours’ notice, it will becounted as a “missed session” and will come out of your allowance.Your Support Worker will inform the Service Co-ordinator of each missedsession. Only two missed sessions will be funded each semester, and theUniversity reserves the right to withdraw its Support Worker provision if you havetwo “missed sessions” per semester. Approve your Support Worker’s pay claims promptly by clicking on the link tothe Opus system each time you get an e-mail request or signing the In-HouseSupport timesheet. Without your confirmation they cannot be paid for work. Wework within the DSA guidelines and each hour of support work has to be verifiedby the student.See the “Payment Arrangements” section below for more information on theseprocedures. Give feedback to your support worker so they can adjust their working style tobest suit your requirements. You may be required to attend review meetings with an Adviser on request. If you no longer require a Support Worker, you must inform the Service Coordinator in order to terminate the support. If you later decide that the supportneeds to be reinstated this must be arranged by the Service Co-ordinator, andnot directly between you and a Support Worker. If you are terminating yourstudies, inform the Service Co-ordinator with the date when your studies willfinish.
Complete an evaluation questionnaire at the end of each academic year. Thisis an opportunity for you to raise any questions or difficulties you may be having,and to help us develop our service.ProblemsIf you are unhappy with any aspect of the Support Workers Scheme, orencounter any problems with your support, please contact the Service Co-ordinatoras soon as possible.If you receive notetaking support but do not receive a set of notes provideimmediate feedback to your Notetaker. If this doesn’t solve the problem, contact theService Co-ordinator as soon as possible. A delay in informing the Co-ordinator cancause problems in tracking down or replacing the notes.We try to ensure that all timetabled sessions are covered. If a Support Workercannot attend due to unforeseen circumstances (for example illness), we will try toarrange a replacement Support Worker. This may not always be possible, and wewill inform you as soon as we are aware of this. If you receive notetaking supportand you have a Dictaphone, record all lectures so that you have a back-up. Fornon-timetabled sessions, either we or the Support Worker will be in touch torearrange the session.The Employment and Co-ordination of Support Workers Bangor University co-ordinates it’s Support Workers Scheme via StudentServices. Support Workers are employed through an external recruitmentagency, Randstad Student Support, as:- Mentors- Notetakers- Learner Support Workers (for help with accessing study materials,laboratories or with fieldwork, getting around the campus, carryingitems, notetaking, etc.) Support Workers engaged through the University via Randstad go through athorough interview/screening process. They are fully reference checked andeligible to work in the UK. Support Workers undergo police checks through theDisclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The services of Communication Support Workers, British Sign LanguageInterpreters, and Speech to Text Operators will be brought in on an ‘as needs’basis.August 2019-2-
We aim to provide services which are of high quality and organised in a costeffective manner in line with DSA guidelines. We welcome student feedback andwill consider amending systems and procedures in the light of it.Payment Arrangements Approximately once a week/fortnight, an email will come from Randstad to yourBangor University email address. It will outline your Support Worker’s pay claimand ask you to use the Opus website to confirm that support. If you have notreceived this email after receiving support for some time, please inform theService Co-ordinator. Click on the website link in the email and then tick the boxes to ‘approve’ (or‘reject’) each pay claim. If you decide to reject a claim please contact the ServiceCo-ordinator before rejecting the work on Opus, as we may be able to resolveyour issue. For those receiving Support through Bangor University’s In-House Support will beasked by the Support Worker to meet once a week to sign a timesheet. By approving support work you are confirming the receipt of that support. This isa requirement of your funding body in distributing your DSA funds. If you share aSupport Worker the cost will be split between DSA allowances. Your funding body will be invoiced by Randstad at the end of each month. If you fail to promptly approve support you received, your Support Workermay not get paid. Because of this we have had to implement a procedure inwhich the service may be suspended until the appropriate claims are approved.Additional Information It is important that you ensure that your contact details are up-to-date in yourMyBangor account and that you routinely check your University emails. Youremail address will always be provided to your Support Worker, and you will begiven theirs. Confidentiality will be maintained within the Disability Service unless it is believedthat to do so would cause harm to you or other people. If you have a Support Worker in taught classes you may want to tell the lecturer.You may want to introduce your Support Worker to them; this is advised inpractical sessions, especially when you are being assessed. Support Workers are expected to support the work of students but care must betaken to ensure that the work remains that of the student.August 2019-3-
Examination support is NOT arranged by the Support Workers Scheme. Youshould see the Examination Officer and your School’s Administrator if you requirethe assistance of a support worker in an examination. Occasionally a student will feel that it would be preferable to work with a differentSupport Worker. This can be arranged through the Service Co-ordinator butplease note that with regards to note taking, it may not always be possible tohave a different note taker. It is expected that Support Workers and Disability Service staff will treat studentswith respect and that this will be reciprocated by students. If a student behavesunreasonably the discontinuation of support will be considered.For those receiving timetabled support (for example notetaking /learner support worker) You will receive an email at the beginning of the academic year to ask youwhether you would like to have note taking/other entitled support in place.Please reply to this, saying whether you do or do not wish to take up yoursupport. If you do not respond to this email, your support may not be put inplace since we would like your endorsement that you do want it. Email:supportwork@bangor.ac.uk Keep the Service Co-ordinator and your Support Worker informed of anychanges to your timetableInclude changes to times and venue, periods of work placement and whenlectures are replaced by field trips. This is especially important in the first weeksof each semester, when changes are common. Changes which are last minute(i.e. with less than 24 hours’ notice) may result in too short notice to provide asupport worker.August 2019-4-
For those receiving notetaking support Your Notetaker’s role is to provide you with detailed, neat and legible notes, tosupplement the content of online PowerPoint slides or handouts. Do not ask theNotetaker to undertake additional work for you. Please see the Disability Adviseror Mental Health Adviser if you have any other requirements in relation to yourstudies. Notetakers will have their own pens and paper; however, you can provide analternative pen and/or paper if you want. Discuss this with the Notetaker, alongwith any preferences on style, format, or content. Please give feedback on earlynotes to your Notetaker, so they can better tailor future notes to yourrequirements. You will receive your notes electronically. If this poses a problem for you,please let the Coordinator know. Note takers will be provided with your email address to enable them to contactyou regarding notetaking issues. We will also pass on your library card photo(unless you say not to), so they can check they are in the correct lecture room. If you have a Dictaphone, record all lectures. If a Notetaker is unable toattend a session for any reason, you would still have a back-up recording whichcould be transcribed at a later date. Do not pass on your notes to other students. You have an assessed need forthese notes. If you pass them on to classmates this will compromise the Scheme. If receiving typed notes via email, systematically check you have received thesenotes. If there is a delay, immediately inform the Co-ordinator. Support Workers are required to work confidentially and so will not give theidentity of any students to lecturers or students. However, Notetakers will needto know which students they are taking notes for, so that they can ensure that thestudent is present in the lecture (see the “Your Responsibilities” section above),and to ensure they are in the correct lecture. This is normally done by providingyour library card photo to the Support Worker, or by meeting with them at thestart of term.August 2019-5-
For those receiving support from a Mentor A Mentor is there to help you to achieve learning goals. Your Mentor can adviseon organisation, planning and strategies to complete assignments and othertasks. It is expected that you will work with your Mentor to agree achievablelearning goals. Where a student has difficulties in looking after themselves, this may hinder theirability to complete academic tasks. Therefore a Mentor can help with strategiesfor academic work and essential day-to-day living activities. Mentors will be required to submit a monthly report, summarising the meetingsyou have had. You are welcome to read these reports and amend before theyare sent to the Service Co-ordinator.Contact UsNon Medical Help Co-ordinatorDisability ServicesLower Ground FloorNeuadd RathboneBangor UniversityBangorLL57 2DFEmail: supportwork@bangor.ac.ukTel: 01248 383022August 2019-6-
agency, Randstad Student Support, as: . asked by the Support Worker to meet once a week to sign a timesheet. By approving support work you are confirming the receipt of that support. This is a requirement of your fu
